UnitedHealth Group’s Optum Keeps Buying Medical Properties

Optum has followed up its acquisition of urgent care provider MedExpress by buying a chunk of ProHealth Physicians, an independent physician group based in Connecticut. Optum, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, has been on a healthcare shopping spree over the past two years. The latest deal gives Optum control over ProHealth’s administration and other backend operations. The primary-care medical group will continue to be physician-owned, however. ProHealth has stated its plans to move toward risk-based contracts with health insurers, in which physicians are paid based on clinical outcomes; however, they say they will continue to negotiate “at arm’s length” with UnitedHealthcare.